Most seatbelt legislation in the U.S. is left to the states. However, the first seatbelt law was a federal law, Title 49 of the United States code, chapter 301 which took affect January 1, 1968 which required all vehicles (except buses) to be fitted with a seatbelt.

New York was the first state to pass a law which required vehicle occupants to wear seatbelts, a law that came in affect December 1, 1984. New Hampshire is the only state to date that does not require adult drivers to wear safety belts while operating a motor vehicle.

U.S. seatbelt legislation maybe subject to primary or secondary enforcement. Primary allows an officer to stop and ticket a driver if they observe a violation while secondary means the officer may only stop or cite a driver if the driver has committed another primary violation, such as speeding, running a stop sign, etc.

Statistics show that seatbelts save lives when used correctly but I ask you this, should this be a personal choice? In my opinion it’s a personal safety issue and one that should not be punished by fines when an individual decides as a free American citizen to not wear the device.